It sucks by design

It appears obvious to me that the powers that be (our elected officials, bureaucrats, and moneyed interests that lobby them) don’t want Amtrak to exist. MAYBE except for the Northeast Corridor. MAYBE. I believe fear of flying being among the top phobias of people in every class and political belief is the only reason they haven’t entirely pulled the plug on Amtrak decades ago. I haven’t rode it in 15 years and don’t recall having problems with it when I did. But every time I look into it, it tends to cost more than it should and service is extremely limited outside the Northeast. Then there are the horror stories I hear about from reliable sources (train buffs and former employees) and that I read on here. It’s a shame because I want to go on train trips out west before I die.